Surprise!
by JaneyKatherineHummingbird
Summary: Admiral Pike's long missing wife reappears-with an extra passenger. (Pike/Fem Kirk)
1. Chapter 1

"Incoming call from USS Yorktown, sir." Admiral Pike looked up from his endless pile of paperwork to acknowledge the ensign that had spoken to him.

"I'll take it, Connors," he said briefly. With his nod of dismissal, he swiveled around to face the viewscreen. It was always good to hear from his former XO, now Captain of the _Yorktown_ , particularly since he hadn't had a conversation with Number One since...Jamie had gone missing. After seven months, her absence was like an infected wound that could not heal because there was no certainty of what had happened to her. She had taken a shuttle out for a quick meeting on a Starfleet outpost and never come back.

The _Enterprise_ had been forced to continue its mission with Spock as acting captain after a month of active searching for the shuttle or its remains. Smaller ships were still being sent out to sweep the area occasionally, but Starfleet didn't have enough evidence to tie up their flagship for so long in a fruitless search.

He hated hearing people offer sympathies for his loss because he was nowhere near ready to believe she was dead without concrete proof. Was he in denial? Maybe, but something in his gut kept telling him otherwise.

He flipped on the screen to see Number One's familiar face looking back at him.

"Long time no see or hear, Captain," he greeted her.

"Likewise, Admiral," she responded. "I will get directly to the matter at hand, since it concerns a person you are familiar with."

Now that was enigmatic. Chris frowned but motioned her to continue.

"Three days ago, we received s distress call from a small Romulan type vessel. They explained they were outcasts from their home planet due to their decision to follow the principals of Surak. The leader, who identified himself as Sha'al, said they had with them a human who'd been stranded near their camp some months ago and needed medical attention, as she was found to be pregnant and soon to deliver."

"And?" Chris prompted, still wondering where she was going with this.

"The woman in question is your wife, Jamie T. Kirk," Number One said calmly.

The Admiral nearly fell out of his chair.

"Jamie? She's with you? Alive? And pregnant?" He croaked out, trying to remember how to breathe.

"Yes, she is," smiled Captain One. "And I have just been informed the baby has safely arrived. Congratulations, Christopher."

He was gaping like a fish in his shock and wonder, which amused Number One greatly, judging by the almost smile in her face.

"Where the heck are you?" He demanded. "If I have to commandeer a ship to get there, I will."

"I've no doubt, Admiral," she said dryly and graciously gave him the coordinates. Thankfully, they weren't a prohibitive distance from earth and he figured he could get there in a few hours, give or take.

With a judicious mix of smooth talk, guilt-tripping, intimidation, and rank pulling, he managed to convince the brass he needed to see to the matter himself and managed to get a seat on a small cargo ship that was headed to the _Yorktown_ also.

The whole trip to his old stomping grounds, Chris was tense and tight lipped, longing for Jamie and worrying about the condition she was in, after being stranded who-knows-where for so long. And the baby? He was still trying to wrap his head around _that_ detail.

Fatherhood hadn't exactly been in the cards-or so he'd thought. Considering their combined medical histories, conceiving was considered practically impossible. Frustrated as he would be to not be able to be there for her during the pregnancy, it was a small price to pay to have her alive and safe. The fight he'd had to put up to stop Komack declaring her dead had been exhausting.

Being warned in advance, no one got in his way as he prepared to beam aboard the _Yorktown._

"Welcome aboard, sir," the captain greeted him as he stepped off the transporter pad. "Captain Kirk is in a private room in sickbay. Doctor Boyce wants her and the little one there for a few more days."

Little one. Chris wasn't sure he'd believe it until he saw it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Did you know Dr. McCoy told us there was barely a ten percent chance of us having a child without significant medical intervention?" He mused on the familiar walk to sickbay.

"No," she replied, "but given how famous both of you are for beating the odds, it doesn't surprise me that you did once again."

Amusement flickered in One's eyes and she looked almost fiendishly delighted. Chris turned pink and shook his head.

Dr. Phil Boyce, longtime CMO and good friend, met them in sickbay, grinning like the Cat that swallowed the canary.

"Congrats, daddy Chris. Jamie and the baby are doing well, albeit needing plenty of rest after that rough labor, but I'm confident she and your son will both thrive."

"Son?" Chris asked, voice cracking a little.

"A good eight pounder," Phil confirmed, with a smile. "I'll let Jamie tell you the rest after I give her the heads up that you're here."

He vanished through a door and Chris could barely restrain himself from rushing in behind him. Seven long months apart and he'd missed her desperately every day.

At last, Phil re-emerged and gave him the nod to go in.

"She's ready to see you, Admiral."

"Thanks, Phil."

Chris slipped into the room and there, relaxing in the biobed, was his beautiful Jamie, looking pale and disheveled, but looking radiant with joy as he came toward her.

"Chris!" She exclaimed, tears of happiness filling her sea blue eyes. "You came. I've missed you so much!"

His own eyes were watering as he leaned down to take her in his arms.

"Jamie, sweetheart," he said hoarsely, "I'm thankful beyond words you're okay. I've missed you too, beautiful, so much."

For a few minutes, their lips were otherwise occupied, preventing speech as they were "reacquainted." Then Chris pulled away slightly to rest his forehead against hers and wipe the tears off her cheeks.

"They all told me to give up, move on, but I couldn't do that when I didn't believe you were dead. I counted on you being too stubborn to die on me. Not again."

Jamie smiled tearfully at him.

"Thank you," she whispered back. There was more murmuring of endearments and proclamations of love as they celebrated their reunion.

After another pause for tender kisses, Jamie broached the topic of the baby.

"Do you want to meet the little person who kept me going all these months? I think he's awake and wanting to meet his daddy."

He followed her gaze to the bassinet on the other side of the bed, in which a tiny newborn could be seen squirming and making cooing whimper noises. Chris froze at the sight, torn between panic and delight.

"Go on, pick him up," Jamie urged. "You'll fall head over heels in love like I did."

Cautiously, the new father walked around to the bassinet and picked up the mewling infant, whose tiny red face was screwed up in annoyance as he waved two miniature fists in the air.

"Hey there," Chris breathed, cradling the little boy in his arms. Jamie was right. He was smitten at first sight of the dark blue eyes looking up at him quizzically.

He knew absolutely nothing about baby-rearing, but he was game for learning about it.

"He's perfect, love," was all that he could say in the moment, wrapped up in bonding with his son. HIS SON!

"I hope you don't mind I went ahead and named him," Jamie was saying. "We didn't know how long it would be before you could get here."

"Not at all, Jamie. So what is the moniker you've bestowed on our...unexpected...progeny?"

"Phillip Leonard Pike, after our two favorite doctors," she answered proudly. "You like it?"

He loved it. Phil was one of his best friends going back decades and Leonard had saved both their lives multiple times as well as being the grumpy, but loyal friend he was.

"I wholeheartedly endorse it," he told her. "Nice to meet you, Phillip. Hopefully, we'll have a nice long twelve years before you start hating my guts."

Jamie laughed, watching her husband play with Phillip's tiny fingers, fascinated by their size as they wrapped around one of his own. That was a sight she'd often dreamed of, while living in the hideout and feeling the baby moving inside of her.

"Dr. Boyce was very touched and is very attached to his godson already. He was wonderful to me through the labor and delivery and I understand better why Bones respects him so much."

After a pause, she added, "we have a lot to catch up on, don't we?"

"Yes, we do," he agreed, carefully handing her the baby, who was starting to fuss in earnest. "But I'll wait until you're sure you're ready. Phil doesn't want you stressing yourself out after such a hard labor."

"It was Hours of me screeching, swearing, and begging for mercy while my body was a giant ball of pain. Heck, I've had actual torture that was less excruciating. But this had a much happier ending, didn't it you little miracle baby, you?" she crooned to her son.

Chris sat back in the chair and drank in the sight of Jamie and baby, shaking his head in continued amazement.

"Phil's never gonna let me hear the end of this, is he?" He asked good-humoredly as Jamie ministered to Phillip's infant needs.

A slow smile crept over her face and she nodded decisively.

"You can be sure of that, and neither will Bones, whenever we see him again. Turns out, even my supposedly eggless ovaries don't believe in no-win scenarios, either."

Chris snorted with laughter and couldn't resist kissing her again. How he'd missed that smart mouth and sense of humor, the way her glorious blue eyes glinted with mirth.

"So, I hear you met up with non-hostile Romulans," he said, trying not to sound skeptical that such a thing existed. His experiences with the species had been mostly negative, unfortunately.

Jamie knew and gave an understanding look.

"Hard to believe, I know, but these guys acted more like Vulcans, albeit somewhat more emotional and with more tattoos. I got very lucky where I crash-landed, because they got to me before a patrol of their less friendly brethren did.

Chris tensed at this.

"Crash-landed? We scoured the area for the shuttle and didn't pick up so much as an emergency beacon."

"That's because the navigation was the first thing to go when things went haywire with the shuttle and I ended up a few light years off course. Far too close to the Neutral Zone. The planetoid I landed on was an outpost of Romulans, that technically shouldn't be there. The shuttle was coming down, though, so I had no choice but to do my best to land somewhat intact."

She reached out her free hand to squeeze her husband's. It was so wonderful to be able to see him, hear him, and feel him. For so many months, she had had only the thoughts of him and the kicks of her unborn baby to keep hope alive.


	3. Chapter 3

When did you find out you were pregnant?" Chris asked. "We sure didn't have a clue before you left."

"After Sha'al and his friends found me limping around and convinced me to go with them to their underground refuge, he heard my story and insisted their healer check me for injuries. So this woman named Malika looks me over and tells me "your offspring is alive and thriving in your womb." I don't need to tell you how shocked I was to hear THAT."

This made Chris laugh again and he reached out a finger to touch a tiny blue-socked foot.

"But Phil's face was even funnier when I was first helped to Sickbay, huge with child and in labor," she recalled fondly. "He looked like he'd seen flying space pigs out the window or something."

Ha. How Chris looked forward to gloating over having proved Phil wrong for once. Old he may be, beyond increasing the population he was not.

"Why such a long time in hiding?" He asked, when he was able to contain his mirth.

"Because the not-friendly Romulans hung around that long, swarming over the wreckage of the shuttle and trying to gather dirt on the federations plans. Sha'al had the presence of mind to destroy the shuttle so it would look like there had been no survivors."

"I'll have to thank these good Romulans in person," Chris said determinedly. "They saved your life. Who knows what the others would have done to you."

His voice cracked slightly and Jamie moved her hand back to his, knowing he'd been aching for her as much as she had for him.

"They'll be quite interested in meeting you, Chris. In fact, they might just treat you like a god," she told him, blue eyes glittering with mirth."

At his disbelieving stare, she giggled and explained.

"As the months passed and I got bigger and bigger, they started asking questions about my mate. When I told them who you were, their eyes bugged out and they acted reverent. You're a legend to them: the famous Captain Pike who faced down Nero himself and lived to tell the tale. They were even more determined to reunite us and make sure me and the baby were safe."

Jamie moved Phillip so he was propped against her shoulder and began patting his little back to get the burps out.

"We were finally able to get a clear window of time to get aboard their little ship and sneak out of there and not a moment too soon. Baby boy wanted out and out NOW!"

This display of maternal cuteness caused a rush of tender feelings in Chris's heart. He'd thought his wife couldn't possibly be any prettier than she was the day they'd been married, but that glow in her eyes as she looked at their newborn was almost unearthly.

"Well," he said, still staring at her, "I should probably notify the grandparents. Winona and my folks will be over the moon to hear about this."

"And my crew, too," she added. "Bones will go nuts when he finds out, but he'll need photographic evidence to assuage his doubts. The next person who comes in here is going to take a lovely family picture of us."

Family. That word made crusty Admiral Christopher Pike turn a bit mushy inside, not that he'd ever tell. But Jamie, looking in her husband's eyes, saw the truth in their honest depths and was even more thankful to be home.

"What do you think of your surprise, Chris," Phil asked when he'd rejoined them after a satisfactory long time. He was looking extremely pleased.

Chris got up to shake his friend's hand.

"Shocked, but already in love. Thank you for helping her through the birth. It meant a lot to have a familiar face there, since I couldn't make it in time."

Phil's wise blue eyes were affectionate as he glanced at his namesake again.

"Nothing could have delighted me more than ushering my godson into the world-except being your best man, of course. Jamie was a real trooper through the whole thing-she only cursed your name twice."

"That true?" Chris asked his NOW laughing wife.

"Only because you weren't there, not that I was mad about giving birth to your child," Jamie said.

Phil quirked a bushy silver brow, which meant he called BS.

"Okay, so I was a little aggravated, but that ended the moment you put him in my arms," Jamie told the doctor.

"Yes, you won me over with your utter sweetness, didn't you, precious darling?" she murmured, at which wee Phillip yawned, causing an "Awwww" from all three adults.

"Look out, Chris," Phil warned. "You're going to have to share her now."

"I don't mind," Chris said, far from displeased at the prospect. "They're here and that's what matters. Now stop grinning like an idiot and help us capture this moment for posterity."

"Yes, SIR."


	4. Chapter 4

All the careful planning Chris and Jamie did to minimize the sensation her return would bring ended up being the equivalent of stopping a hull breach with a finger. It didn't take long after they made it back to earth for the media to catch wind that Captain Kirk was alive and had had a baby.

Great speculation swept through the tabloids over how THAT had happened and where she'd been, including the requisite "she had an affair and ran off! She's lucky he even took her back!"

Chris yanked quite a few media passes after the press conference they'd had, but the last straw came after he came home to find Jamie trying to rock a crying Phillip in one arm and fend off reporters with another. His wife was still healing and visibly exhausted from the stress of adjusting to motherhood. She did NOT need those parasitic leeches crawling all over the place!

The glare he'd leveled at the reporters when he'd told them to "Get Out Before I Call The Police," had been just as effective as usual, thankfully, and he made haste to help her back to the couch, whispering soothing words to his upset son.

"Hey there, son, it's all right. Those scary people are all gone now. Mommy and Daddy won't let them bother you anymore."

Jamie gave a half-hearted smile, but the traces of anger lingered around her mouth.

"Chris, please get us out of here," she entreated. "I'm about to go momma bear on someone soon. Please tell me they gave us leave."

Chris sat down beside his wife and wrapped an arm around her.

"They did: six weeks for me, eight for you. So I was thinking we'd hide out at the ranch for awhile. Sound good?"

"Very good," she sighed, bouncing Phillip until his wails ceased. "Isolated in the middle of nowhere is just what I need right now. If I hear another question about us being fit parents or even if he's your kid, I'm going to start breaking noses."

Phillip at this moment made a little grimace that was so like his father's, Chris chuckled.

"Look at that face!" He observed, stroking a tiny cheek. "How could he NOT be my son? He's got the Pike glare down pat!"

"So he does," Jamie agreed, kissing her son's disgruntled looking face. "At this age, it probably means he needs a fresh diaper. I'll fix you right up, sweetie," she said to the baby, handing him to Chris and getting up to get the diapers and wipes. He succeeded in coaxing a happy squeal from the infant in the meantime and handed him back to Jamie feeling very satisfied.

"Any word on when the Enterprise is due back?" She asked.

"Two weeks, give or take a few days. I'm pretty sure your entire crew is itching to get home and see you, a certain Doctor especially."

"I bet. I miss Bones. We have so much to catch up on and I imagine rants and scoldings to meekly listen to."

The move to the ranch was accomplished smoothly and stealthily, only the most trustworthy and close friends being told where they'd be. Jamie finally began to relax and feel at home again, able to have her husband and son all to herself for the first time together. She couldn't do much strenuous activity, but just sitting and watching the sun on the mountains while snuggled up with Chris was delight enough. Slowly, they began to fill in the missing pieces of the last seven months and slip back into their old ease with each other, AKA Sappy Lovebirds, as Bones used to call them.

The beginning of the second week, Leonard McCoy finally made his appearance at the Pike ranch, being bodily grabbed by Jamie and squished in a hug the second he set foot in the door.

"Bones! It's so good to see you again! I've missed my favorite doctor and his grumpiness."

"Are you tryin' to break my ribs, woman? Good grief," Bones said mildly, managing to extricate his arms enough to return her embrace and then shake Chris's hand.

"How in the world did you manage to escape death AND defy biology? Even for you, that's a pretty big feat."

Jamie laughed and showed him to a couch, seeing his legs were still wobbly from the transporter.

"The first one, I got very lucky that the Romulans who found me were friendly," she explained, "the second, well, you know Chris and I-the epitome of odds beaters. Tell us we can't do something, we'll be sure to do it."

She winked at her husband, who grinned back a tad smugly.

"You should know that by now, McCoy," Chris added.

"Command types: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em," Bones groaned, shaking his head. "So, how's life with a newborn, Jamie? It's not for the faint for heart."

"No it's not," she agreed. "But little Phillip is so precious. He's been a good baby so far, doesn't cry too much and sleeps a respectable amount for his age. It's been fun discovering all the ways he takes after us. He should be waking up soon, so you'll get plenty of chances to fall under his infant charms."

Jamie was right. When the young Pike was introduced to his godfather, Bones was smitten immediately.

"Look at those big blue eyes. You've gonna be a heartbreaker someday, kid," he murmured, cuddling the baby in the crook of his arm. "He's adorable, Jamie. Looks really healthy, too. Phil was just bursting his buttons with pride talking about his namesake, and I can see why. To think, all these months apart and he was just in there waiting to surprise everybody."

Jamie giggled, pride mixed with joy and intense gratitude filling her at the moment. She had her three very favorite men in the world with her and it was so wonderful.

"Mind telling me how you survived seven months with the Pointy-eared computer's distant relatives?"

"Now Bones, don't be rude!" Jamie protested with another laugh.

"They were really very nice. You'd appreciate their logic better if you had the psycho angry version hot on your tail. Malika made sure I had enough to eat and drink, even though there wasn't much in the way of rations. They kept me sane and encouraged me not to give up hope."

"I'm happy for ya, Jamie," he told her, "but I thought you were dead and gone. Was going to resign when we got back. Can't deal with the cold, treacherous, blackness of space without you there."

"Aww, Bones," Jamie consoled, "I'm very much alive and probably won't be going back out in the black for awhile. You won't be rid of me for a long time, I promise."

At this juncture, Phillip yawned and stretched and Jamie squealed and cooed at her son.

"Yes, you're mommy's sweet little pumpkin, yes you are, look at those muscles going! Such a strong boy you are!"

Grinning, Leonard met Chris's eyes over Jamie's head as she'd leaned over to blow kisses to Phillip.

"Well, I'll be: Jamie T. Kirk doing the baby talk gibberish already. Who'd have thought?"

"I know, right?" beamed the Admiral. "But he's got us both wrapped around his little finger."

He eyed his son with adoration and a momentary thought of envy passed through Leonard. His own offspring preferred her stepdad and made it clear she didn't want any connection with him. What would it have been like if he'd actually listened when she WAS in his life? With a sigh, he shook the gloom away as Jamie started questioning him again.

"Tell me all the juicy ship gossip. Spock'll report the mission stuff dutifully, but I want to know what interesting stuff has been going on on my ship. Any hot new couples?"

"Well, Carol and Scotty are an item now," he reported, which made Jamie pump her fist in triumph.

"Yes!" She crowed. "When did it become official?"

"About day 77 of your long absence. Scotty felt terrible about what happened with the shuttle and Carol took on the job of talking sense into him, which led to a lot of chit-chat, which led to dates, which led to FEELINGS." He shuddered as he said that and Jamie rolled her eyes.

"I used to have the same horror of such feelings," put in Chris. "Then I met her. You never know, Len, they might sneak up on you when you least expect them."

Leonard was skeptical, but if a crusty admiral could open up, maybe there was hope for him yet.


End file.
